Censorship of the Barnier government, 2025 finance bill left pending… several measures which have a direct impact on employees risk being postponed after January 1 pending a government recomposition. Among them, the extension of the reimbursement of transport costs up to 75% and that of the possibility of using meal vouchers in supermarkets to buy food that is not directly consumable. Not sure, therefore, that employees will benefit from these benefits on January 1, 2025. But everything is not over.
Meal vouchers
In 2022, due to inflation, Parliament decided to modify the payment rules for meal vouchers in order to give back some purchasing power to the beneficiaries, more than five million people. Concretely, it became possible to pay for products that were not directly consumable (such as rice or pasta) in supermarkets, whereas restaurant vouchers were until then limited to directly consumable products (such as ready-made meals or fruit). The measure, which expired in 2023, was extended until December 31 of this year. A provision limited in time, time to deal with inflation. In November, the National Assembly decided once again to extend this measure, via the adoption of a bill. As stated Public Senatethe Senate was to “pronounce itself in public session this Thursday, December 12”. Problem: in the meantime, the government has been censored, and Parliament cannot debate legal texts without members of the government, especially since Parliament and the government share the initiative of the agenda, according to article 48 of the Constitution.
“Without conforming adoption of the text by December 31, they (the French) will no longer be able to use their meal vouchers in January 2025 in supermarkets for their shopping for non-directly consumable food products (oil, dough, butter)” , detailed with West France the resigning Secretary of State for Consumer Affairs, Laurence Garnier.
The general director of Edenred France, a company which markets meal vouchers, however tried to reassure on Linkedin. “We are confident that the next government and Parliament will find a very short-term solution to remove this ambiguity, before or shortly after December 31, 2024,” wrote Ilan Ouanounou. It remains to be seen whether a government will be quickly reformed or not. In any case, the extension, if it takes place, should remain a temporary measure.
Transportation costs
Another measure suspended from the appointment of a new government, the reimbursement of up to 75% of the employee’s transport costs by the employer, a tax incentive measure also put in place in the summer of 2022 to improve the power of purchasing in an inflationary context. As the Ministry of the Economy website points out, all employers must cover part of the cost of their employees’ transport between their home and their place of work (public transport or bicycle), according to the Labor Code. This support is compulsory at 50%, and since 2022 can go up to 75%, and is exempt from social security contributions. It was extended in 2023 for 2024, and was to be extended again for 2025.
But with the government’s censorship and in the absence of a possible vote on the Finance Bill for 2025, the measure also seems difficult to put in place before January 1. The office of Budget Minister Laurent Saint-Martin affirmed Figaro that “the devices [qui devaient s’éteindre au 31 décembre, NDLR] cannot be extended and this is not the purpose of the special law” presented this Wednesday to the Council of Ministers, which aims solely to ensure the continuity of public services. The 50% reimbursement threshold will, however, remain obligatory.